Eye of the Storm
by Ellie101
Summary: Storms can break the barrier between two worlds.... and Sarah's taking advantage of it. (Revised...with news of sequel, and or prequel, at the end of the AN)


****

Eye of the Storm

By Ellie

****

A/N- It's been a while since I've written anything for fanfic and I was feeling remorseful when the inspiration for this story hit me…

Special thanks to Baloo, who helped me edit this fic. Hopefully the differences will make it flow much better. (If you haven't heard of her than I suggest you go check out her page here- you'll be glad you did!)

The rain fell in torrents upon her roof. Lightning flickered in the murky sky, and thunder rumbled with a deep intensity. The electricity had long since gone out, so the house was illuminated by weak candlelight.

A figure was seated in a chair with a blanket wrapped around their feet. A burst of lightning revealed a lovely girl with dark hair and delicate features.

Most people would have been uneasy or afraid during such a severe storm but Sarah Williams had never been 'most people'. 

Her eyes shone with excitement. Storms thrilled her. The pounding of the rain upon her roof and the feel of thunder reverberating through her bones made her body thrum with anticipation.

Sarah had discovered long ago that there was a reason the Goblin King had appeared that stormy night…There was something about storms- something magical. Storms weakened the barriers between the two worlds she was a part of…. The one in which she had been born- and the one that plagued her dreams. The Underground. The Labyrinth. Him…The Goblin King.

Sarah rested her head back against her chair and waited. She must be patient. She knew the signs- the hairs of her nape standing on end, the random shivers crawling down her spine, candles flickering without a breeze. All of the things she had glossed over as 'typical storm stuff' when she hadn't known better. But she had learned and learned well. Things, after all, were not always as they seemed.

Lightning cracked whip-like in the distance and Sarah rose and walked slowly to a draped cloth hanging from her wall. She tugged the rich fabric from its anchor, revealing a mirror. It was as familiar to her as the fairytales she had read countless times as a child. She had played dress-up in its silvery depths for years. It was both a comfort and a warning to her now.

Karen couldn't understand why Sarah had refused to part with the old vanity mirror, but Sarah had been determined to take it with her. She had taken it to a shop to change its frame and make it suitable for display, but the glass was the same- A reminder of childish dreams and womanly desires… Of the cool brush of leather and bits of broken glass. 

Lost in remembrance, Sarah raised one finger and drew it down the gilded surface. She could almost see their dear faces smiling back at her. Old friends- loyal friends. 

She frowned; that wasn't right. The mirror couldn't reach her friends. Only to him. And only when the storms raged. Sarah's eyes closed as she envisioned him… It had been years since she had watched him. Years since she could recall the planes of his face. She could see his hair, the tousled golden mess of it. And the lips turned upwards in a wicked smile, and the eyes that had looked far too deep inside her were there. But was the slant of his cheekbones right? Was his forehead slightly longer?

Frustration surged inside her. He was her fantasy. Her captor. Her prince. Her enemy. How could she have forgotten? 

Sarah clenched her jaw. With age came consequence, and the price for her adulthood had been a high one. She had forgotten how to believe in the magic and lost some of her purest memories to Time. 

A sliver of an image tugged at her consciousness. Of leather being dragged down the length of her skin, of tongues battling heatedly. Age had given her dreams of true passion…maybe it would be enough. It would have to be enough.

Sarah stared into the mirror hungrily. She watched the lightning flash in the reflection and thought of silky hair and heated lips lapping at her collarbone. HIS lips. HIS hair. HIS body wrapped around her own like sinewed velvet. Of his eyes catching hers from across a crowded ballroom.

And it was enough.

The mirror glowed briefly before showing Sarah the world she had left behind. Before showing Sarah the man she had defeated. He was lying amidst a sea of silken sheets that encased his gargantuan bed. She was relieved when she saw that he was alone. She studied him the way an artist admires the lines of a sculpture. He had an air of danger about him even in his sleep. A hint of a power so great that it could only be feared. 

He rolled over and the sheet that had been covering him slid down to expose an unhindered view down one side of his body. From cheek to hipbone he was utterly beautiful. And untouchable. Sarah gasped softly and her pulse sped up.

Mismatched eyes flew open, and seemed to look directly into her own. The voice that haunted both her dreams and nightmares rang clearly from the mirror.

"Still playing your games of hide and seek Sarah? I thought you were finished watching me."

The sound of his voice flowed fluidly. A hint of sensuality tempered by the scornful bite of cruelty. Sarah stepped back, her voice trapped in her throat like a bird struggling to fly. 

He clucked his tongue at her, "Come now Sarah, you didn't *honestly* think that I couldn't feel your eyes upon me the first time you discovered what your little mirror could do, did you? Always sneaking tiny peeks, thrilling yourself with the magic at your fingertips- never stopping for a moment to think of anything but yourself." 

Sarah cowered at his anger as he raged on, "I gave you your wish. I let you watch me. I gave you everything and anything you wanted and this is your thanks- flashes of erotic dreams and a visit after three years of absence! Your selfishness amazes me!"

Sarah's chin tipped up in challenge and her spine stiffened. Her fear seemed to melt away as anger and indignity arose in a wash of scorching heat. "Three years of covering mirrors during storms and you're calling ME selfish?!" Her voice rose as she continued, "I was seventeen damn you! Seventeen and hopelessly infatuated with the side of you the mirror revealed to me. God help me, I was in LOVE with you. Hell, I was only a few moments from wishing myself away to you!"

His eyes held hers coldly- condemnation glittered in their icy depths. But he said nothing, so she continued.

"There was a storm and I took it as a sign to attempt to speak to you through the mirror. I had never tried it before but if it was possible to be yours without making myself your slave, I thought it would definitely be worth it. So I used the mirror. And you were preoccupied with pleasuring someone else. I realized that I was trying to live a fantasy by begging for you to take me back. I realized that it was time I let you go."

"You were a child-" he began.

"I was in LOVE Goblin King!" she spat. "I was a fool! But that was then. And I needed to do this- I wanted to do this. To see you one last time."

His cultured voice mocked her, "Whatever do you mean 'one last time'? Do you honestly think that you can carry on as before now that you've revealed your presence? I've been kind Sarah. I've waited for you to grow out there… among the science and the logic. But never forget that you are mine just as much as I am yours."

Sarah laughed bitterly. "I've never forgotten Goblin King. You're all I think about some days, especially during the nights. I feel cold without your memory to warm me."

Jareth smiled triumphantly. "Then come to me. Take your rightful place by my side. I promise you that once you are there you will never want to be anywhere else."

Sarah shrugged, "I wanted to remember you before I was forced to forget everything."

He scowled, "You and I are bound for all eternity. It would not be possible to forget."

"So you would have me be what? Your mistress? Your queen?" She demanded.

"You would be mine," he hissed.

Sarah's lips twisted in a painful imitation of a smile. "I thought that's what you'd say. Good-bye Goblin King."

Jareth looked shocked and furious, but still, he issued a command, "If you are truly doing it…freeing yourself from me…then there is more to be said than 'Good-bye Goblin King'.

Sarah turned teary eyes upon him, her first love. "You're right," she said simply. 

"Good-bye…Jareth."

She saw his expression shatter as she whispered his given name, and before she could change her mind, Sarah quickly covered the mirror and walked away. 

Sarah knew that she didn't have the strength to destroy her only link to him, but she would move it into her attic the next day and try to forget. She would make herself forget the magic, and then maybe she would find peace.

****

~Finis~

Ok- don't kill me. There are tons of possibilities for this to go somewhere else in the future- but I swear this story WANTED to end this way. No matter how much I tried it kept coming back to this. winces Hey, I love J/S don't get me wrong… but this is just one of those weird little things that had to be done! =)

Please review, and be honest but relevant. 

Thanks!

~Ellie

__

To my posted reviewers- Thank you for dropping me a line. I appreciate each word you typed. 

****

I have some good news for those of you that have been begging for more of this story. I plan on writing the background story to this one… and then possibly a true sequel to this story… I suppose it all depends on time and how much of it I can spare for this… I haven't forgotten my other fics (though it may seem that way) I'm just having a little more difficulty with them. It's becoming increasingly hard for me to work with some of my earlier stories because I had a different style and perception of the characters then I do now. My writing is improving as I go… and I'm almost worried that by trying to go back I'll end up messing something up. These things must be done *delicately* after all… =) Hopefully I'll be able to update some of my previous stories soon.

I wish I could tell you when I'll have the background story posted… but I have absolutely no idea.

__

(But if you want something to read in the meantime- wink You should go read Saxonny's "Jareth vs. The Goblin King" it's an amazing fic that isn't getting the recognition it should. It's on my faves list so only a couple of clicks away! Go- be awed and amazed!)


End file.
